1. Reassigning Police Officers Back To Home
228 police officers who worked in the capital of Macedonia Skopje were reassigned to smaller towns which are their places of origin. Now, other places will have more qualified police officers and they will be closer to their families and friends.
2. Continued Battle against Organized Crime
Members of a criminal group who sold drugs in Macedonia were arrested as part of police action ‘Lotos’. Another group that sold drugs and smuggled migrants were arrested as part of operation ‘Coyote’. Members of the group were police officers from Veles.
3. Macedonia as part of the Regional SOCTA Initiative
The Macedonian Ministry of Interior has engaged in the creation the regional Serious and Organized Crime Threat Assessment initiative together with ministries from Serbia and Montenegro, with the assistance of OSCE.
4. Efforts in Countering Violent Extremism and Terrorism
Macedonian police participated in an anti-terrorist operation with colleagues from Kosovo and Albania. Four individuals were arrested and sentenced for the preparation of terrorist attacks based on the operation ‘Cell 2’. Counter-Terrorism strategy was drafted.
5. Body Cameras for Macedonian Police
Macedonian police officers will be equipped with mobile cameras worth 65000 Euros in order to record their actions. The idea is to prevent fraud and corruption and determine the merits of citizens’ complaints.
1. Police Brutality Has Increased
The Macedonian Ombudsman has assessed that police brutality has increased in 2016 in regard to previous year. In the same line, the Ombudsman filed several criminal charges against police officers for possible police brutality.
2. Influence of Politics and Dualism on Policing
The parties agreed in 2016, in order to affect the political crisis in Macedonia, that the new Minister of Interior came from the Opposition while a Deputy-Minister coming from the ruling party. The solution led to dualism in the work including holding parallel press conferences.
3. Tear Gas and Rubber Bullets for Migrants
The Macedonian police were criticized for using tear gas and rubber bullets in order to deal with the refugees and migrants protest to reopen the border near Macedonian southern border.
4. Activists in Custody While Protesting
The Police faced critics for apprehending and alleged excessive use of force against members of civil society organizations and activists during the series of protests of the Colorful revolution.
5. Questionable Employment Practices
The Ministry of Interior has been criticized for the politicization when hiring hundreds of police officers in 2016 just before the change of leadership, while 660 police officers who successfully completed a year-long training protested in order to request employment.
Civil society organizations
dedicated to oversight of police integrity.